The Rewind: Champions crowned in flag and Division III football; UAA hockey and Anchorage Wolverines notch bounce-back wins

Welcome to The Rewind, a weekly digest that puts a spotlight on the biggest stories and best performances from Alaska’s world of sports.

This past week featured several notable individual and team performances across the Alaska sports landscape at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. This past week of high school football action saw lopsided victories across the board on the gridiron at all three levels for tackle football as well as the inaugural flag football state championship tournament. On the college scene, both University of Alaska hockey programs split their respective series on the road. Outside the state, several Alaskans had impressive performances and career achievements worth recognizing and celebrating.

Headlines and highlights

In the first Alaska high school state flag football championship tournament, North Pole made history by being the last team standing after besting Service 27-6 on Saturday night.

“I don’t think we were the favorite,” North Pole head coach Jamie Darby said. “North Pole has always kind of been sidelined, and the bigger schools are looked at like they have better programs. This year is one of the strongest teams we’ve had, and it’s not just one, two players. We have 21 girls, and 80% of them can play varsity.”

[North Pole earns first-ever Alaska state flag football title]

The high school football season for the Division III level came to a close earlier that day out at Wasilla High and saw fourth-seeded Homer return to the top and capture the program’s second title in the past three years with a 16-0 shutout of Kenai Central, which won the title in 2023.

“We played assignment football,” Homer head coach Justin Zank said. “Everybody played with intensity and everybody believed.”

[Advantage Homer: Mariners topple Kenai Central 16-0 to win DIII football title]

The table is set for the both Division I and II state title games this weekend after all four semifinal matchups resulted in blowouts. In Anchorage, West avenged its first loss of the season by beating Bettye Davis East on the road while the top-seeded Dimond Lynx remained undefeated after successfully defending their home turf for the final time this season in a win over Bartlett to punch their ticket to the state title game for the first time in 23 years. Both Lathrop and Soldotna steamrolled their semifinal opponents by more than 25 points to advance to the Division II title game for the fourth year in a row.

“I’ve been waiting for this day, I’ve been waiting for this game especially for this moment right here,” West senior running back Zephaniah Sailele said after rushing for three touchdowns. “I feel like I got my get back.”

[West and Dimond advance to Division I state football championship with dominant semifinal victories]

The top two volleyball teams in the state squared off for the first time in the regular season after having only played in abbreviated tournament formats prior to Wednesday. While previously undefeated Dimond was able to avoid getting swept at home by rallying to win the third set, defending 4A state champion Wasilla still went on to win the highly anticipated nonconference match in commanding fashion in the fourth.

“We mentally prepared a lot for this game, and we also physically prepared for it,” Wasilla head coach Katie Oxspring said. “Dimond is a really good team and the type of team that you have to prepare specifically for. It feels good to see some of that hard work that the girls put in and a lot of the focus they put in pay off.”

[Road Warriors: Wasilla volleyball remains unbeaten by handing Dimond first loss of season]

On the college scene, the only game the UAA and UAF volleyball teams played this past week was against each other up in Fairbanks and saw the hosting Nanooks prevail in four sets, winning each of the last three after falling in the first. UAF had a trio of players reach double figures in kills led by senior outside hitter Karli Nielson with a match-high 16. The Seawolves only player to reach double figures in kills was senior outside hitter Katie Birtcil with 10.

The UAA men’s hockey team notched its first official nonexhibition win over the weekend after suffering five straight losses to open the season. Following a 2-1 loss to Northern Michigan on Friday night, the Seawolves bounced back in a big way Saturday with a 5-3 triumph in which Wasilla product Porter Schachle led the team with a pair of goals and logged an assist.

“We finally put an entire team effort together,” UAA head coach Matt Shasby said in a statement. “I was happy for our group to get rewarded for a 60-minute effort. I thought the line of Schachle, Edwards and Anderson was excellent tonight. We are looking forward to the three weekend home stretch coming up.”

Not to be outdone, the UAF hockey team rebounded from a 4-1 loss to nationally ranked University of Notre Dame on Friday night to pull off a stunning upset on Saturday night with a 1-0 shutout victory. After allowing four goals to get past him the night before on 34 attempts, Nanooks goalie Nicholas Grabko was lights-out in the second game, stopping the Fighting Irish on all 37 attempts to slip the puck past him.

The Anchorage Wolverines went north to face Fairbanks for the first time this season over the weekend for a two-game series. After having their three-game win steak snapped by a 7-4 loss on Friday night, they bounced back with a 7-1 win Saturday in which they used an explosive 4-0 scoring run in the second period to pull ahead for good. The Wolverines were led in goals by Anchorage’s own Toby Carlson who scored half of the team’s goals in that key period.

Alaska stars shining Outside

Anchorage’s Jeremy Swayman recorded his second-most saves of the season in the Boston Bruins’ 2-1 overtime loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday. The starting goalkeeper prevented 30-of-32 attempts from getting behind him between regulation and overtime combined.

Nome’s Justinian Jessup drilled a trio of long balls on his way to recording 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a steal for Ratiopharm Ulm in a 111-100 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers last Wednesday. A former NBA draft pick, Jessup was originally selected in the second round of the 2020 draft by the Golden State Warriors out of Boise State University and played for the team in the NBA Summer League in 2021 and 2022.

Anchorage’s Brooke Dexter recorded her second match of 20-plus kills this season and in the last three contests with a team-leading and match-high 20 in a four-set win for the top-seeded Simon Frasier University women’s volleyball team over Northwest Nazarene University this past Saturday. The former West High standout also logged 11 digs, three blocks and an assist.

Anchorage’s Marisol Vargas stopped four of the five attempts to get the ball past her and into the back of the net as the starting goalkeeper for the University of St. Mary (Kansas) women’s soccer team in the Spires’ 2-1 victory over Tabor College on Saturday.

Anchorage’s Elijah Reed helped propel the Sierra College football team to a 42-40 win over Feather River on Saturday. The former East High standout led the Wolverines with a season-high 74 yards on five carries for a gaudy average of 14.8 because the bulk of his yardage came on a season-long 53-yard gallop that he took to the house for his third touchdown of the season.

Reed wasn’t the only Alaskan and former CIC standout who had a big day in the game. Former Dimond star Malachi Casey put up his best numbers of the season with four catches for 73 yards and a long of 27, all of which were season best marks.

Anchorage’s Thomas Witte recorded a season-high six total tackles including three solo takedowns and half a tackle for loss in the University of Nevada-Reno football team’s 24-21 loss to Fresno State University on Saturday.

Anchorage’s Aaron Hampton recorded his second tackle of the season for the University California at Berkley football team in the Bears’ 24-23 loss to N.C. State University this past Saturday.

Fast Forward

Prep

Football

West v. Dimond at Colony High School, Friday at 6:30 p.m.

The 2024 high school football season will come to a close this weekend out in Mat-Su with the first of the two championship games taking place under the Friday night lights. The reigning champion Eagles are soaring into the finals confident and riding a six-game winning streak while the undefeated Lynx are aiming to claim their first title in 23 years. These two teams faced off at Dimond in Week 4 and West got blown out 29-12 but the Eagles haven’t lost since then.

Lathrop v. Soldotna at Colony High School, Saturday at 4 p.m.

For the fifth straight time since 2019 with the exception of the 2020 season when there weren’t any championship tournaments held, the Division II crown will be decided by a matchup between the Malemutes and defending champion Stars. Lathrop handed Soldotna its lone loss not only of the season but since the 2022 title tilt in Week 8 on the road and will be looking to pull off another upset this weekend on a neutral site.

College

Men’s basketball

Warner Pacific v. UAA at Alaska Airlines Center, Friday at 6 p.m.

The Seawolves will officially open their 2024-2025 season on their home court with a two-game exhibition series against the Knights with the second game taking place on Saturday with a tipoff time of 5 p.m.

Hockey

Colorado College v. UAA at Avis Alaska Sports Complex, Friday at 7:07 p.m.

The Seawolves will be back on their home ice for the first time in two weeks where they will host the Tigers for a two-game series with the second one taking place on Saturday night with a puck-drop time of 6:07 p.m.

NAHL

Wisconsin Windigo at Anchorage Wolverines, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Wolverines will be back in town for just their second-ever home series since making Sullivan Arena their new home and they’ll be taking on the Midwest-leading Windigo who they’ve already faced once this season and lost to 4-1 earlier this month on the road.

Last week’s results

High School

Riflery

Thursday

Bartlett 4, East 2

Bartlett 2804, East 2682

Team leaders of the week:

Bartlett -Isabelle Stryker scoring 285 with 14 Bullseyes

East- Samuel Woolley scoring 277 with 10 Bullseyes

Friday

West 7, South 0

Volleyball

Tuesday

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Susitna Valley 3, Birchwood Christian 2

Nikiski 3, Seward 0

Soldotna 3, Homer 1

Palmer 3, Colony 1

Mountain City Christian 3, Redington 1

East 3, Bartlett 0

Dimond 3, Eagle River 0

Chugiak 3, West 0

South 3, Service 1

Wednesday

Wasilla 3, Dimond 1

Thursday

Susitna Valley 3, Cordova 1

Nikiski 3, Homer 0

Service 3, Eagle River 2

Dimond 3, East 0

Friday

Birchwood Christian 2, Cook Inlet Academy 0

Susitna Valley 2, Ninilchik 0

Cordova 2, Cook Inlet Academy 0

Homer 3, Houston 0

Susitna Valley 2, Cordova 1

Soldotna 3, Colony 0

Wasilla 3, Juneau-Douglas 0

Service 3, Bartlett 0

East 3, West 0

Saturday

Soldotna 3, Colony 1

Flag football

Thursday

Service 25, Lathrop 13

North Pole 14, Chugiak 0

West Anchorage 12, Dimond 0

South 7, Wasilla 6

Friday

Dimond 14, Chugiak 0

Lathrop 19, Wasilla 14

North Pole 26, West 19

Service 7, South 6

Saturday

North Pole 27, Service 6

Football

Friday

Lathrop 42, North Pole 13

Saturday

Homer 16, Kenai Central 0

West 34, East 14

Dimond 36, Bartlett 6

Soldotna 56, Chugiak 7

Swimming

Friday

West v East

Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay

1. West ( Scout Gramse, Payton Curtis, Harper Lind, Casey Eischens), 2:06.14; 2. West 2:27.54; 3. East, 2:43.70

Boys 200 Yard Medley Relay

1. West (London Begich-Bal, Sigge Mellerstig, Cruz Pineda, Al Hussain Elerian), 1:59.05; 2. West, 2:04.19; 3. East, 2:05.30

Girls 200 Yard Freestyle

1. Pia McCarthy, West, 2:27.28; 2. Sophia Zielinski, West, 2:44.47; 3. Arista Toolie, East, 2:49.13

Boys 200 Yard Freestyle

1. London Begich-Bal, West, 2:03.68; 2. Matthew Ray, East, 2:07.67; 3. McKinley Cook, West, 2:21.58

Girls 200 Yard IM

1. Lily Poray, West, 2:54.98; 2. Margaux Linquist, West, 3:14.06; 3. Lillian Clark, West, 3:32.52

Boys 200 Yard IM

1. Jamey Algiene, East, 2:31.11; 2. Thaddeus Adkison, West, 2:34.14; 3. Luke Reardon, West, 3:37.28

Girls 50 Yard Freestyle

1. Molly Wirschem, East, 26.89; 2. Payton Curtis, West, 26.98; 3. Casey Eischens, West, 29.18

Boys 50 Yard Freestyle

1. Al Hussain Elerian, West, 25.12; 2. Sigge Mellerstig, West, 25.65; 3. Cruz Pineda, West, 26.20

Girls 100 Yard Butterfly

1. Scout Gramse, West, 1:12.15; 2. Elise Richotte, West, 1:32.41; 3. Dory Dugal, West, 1:41.81

Boys 100 Yard Butterfly

1. Rowan Skinner, West, 1:13.39; 2. Reed Wirschem, East, 1:13.55; 3.Jamey Algiene, East, 1:15.09

Girls 100 Yard Freestyle

1. Harper Lind, West, 1:01.57; 2. Lily Poray, West, 1:06.27; 3. Margaux Linquist, West, 1:19.83

Boys 100 Yard Freestyle

1. Cruz Pineda, West, 57.38; 2. Matthew Ray, East, 1:00.14; 3. McKinley Cook, West, 1:00.71

Girls 500 Yard Freestyle

1. Payton Curtis, West, 6:11.54; 2. Pia McCarthy, West, 6:36.14

Boys 500 Yard Freestyle

1. London Begich-Bal, West, 5:30.33; 2. Al Hussain Elerian, West, 5:40.95; 3. David O’Connor, East, 5:51.63

Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

1. West (Lily Poray, Elise Richotte, Dory Dugal, Pia McCarthy, 2:09.53; 2. East, 2:16.76; 3. West, 2:20.69

Boys 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

1. West (Al Hussain Elerian, Cruz Pineda, London Begich-Bal, Sigge Mellerstig), 1:44.37; 2. East, 1:51.36; 3. West, 1:54.53

Girls 100 Yard Backstroke

1. Scout Gramse, West, 1:11.64; 2. Molly Wirschem, East, 1:13.25; 3. Tana Stierwalt, East 1:32.68

Boys 100 Yard Backstroke

1. Everett French, East, 1:09.83; 2. Bryce Herda, East,1:10.12; 3. Kevin Zhang, West, 1:16.38

Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke

1. Harper Lind, West, 1:30.07; 2. Casey Eischens, West, 1:31.31; 3. Sarina Germany, West, 1:49.35

Boys 100 Yard Breaststroke

1. Sigge Mellerstig, West,1:10.86; 2. Bryce Herda, East, 1:14.26; 3. Thaddeus Adkison, West 1:18.43

Service v. Dimond

Girls - Team Rankings

1. Service, 104; 2. Dimond, 79

Boys - Team Rankings

1. Dimond, 103; 2. Service, 76

Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay

1. Service ‘A’ (Natalie Hostetter, Anna Brooks, Linai Tuers, Lilly Anderson), 1:59.60; 2. Dimond ‘A’, 2:01.79; 3. Service ‘B’, 2:23.53

Boys 200 Yard Medley Relay

1. Service ‘A’ (Ben Price, Jan Beck, Tomasz Balaban, Jake Altman ), 1:41.78; 2. Dimond ‘A’, 1:44.12; 3. Dimond ‘C’, 2:05.63

Girls 200 Yard Freestyle

1. May Kibodeaux, Dimond, 2:22.12; 2. Keena Bennett, Service, 2:23.46; 3. Phoebe Toscano, Service, 2:31.61

Boys 200 Yard Freestyle

1. Andy Zhang, Dimond, 2:01.92; 2. Jonathan Szymanski, Dimond, 2:08.56; 3. Cameron Posey, Dimond, 2:09.79

Girls 200 Yard IM

1. Zaylee Mullinax, Dimond, 2:25.13; 2. Linai Tuers, Service, 2:33.55; 3. Lilly Anderson, Service, 2:42.64

Boys 200 Yard IM

1. Dax O’Brien, Dimond, 2:15.21; 2. Creed Cvancara, Dimond, 2:25.03; 3. Drew Dittman, Dimond, 2:31.79

Girls 50 Yard Freestyle

1. Natalie Hostetter, Service, 26.54; 2. Varya Bodrova, Dimond, 27.01; 3. Anna Brooks, Service, 27.36

Boys 50 Yard Freestyle

1. Ben Price, Service, 22.46; 2. Clint Kopp, Dimond, 22.57; 3. Tomasz Balaban, Service, 22.61

Girls 1 mtr Diving

1. Kensley Denmon, Service, 200.45; 2. Alexandria Bond, Service, 198.25; 3. Genevieve Sperbeck, Dimond, 164.80

Boys 1 mtr Diving

1. Roman Billings, Dimond, 248.05; 2. Reubin Williams, Service, 214.00

Girls 100 Yard Butterfly

1. Jillian Kuipers, Dimond, 1:18.86; 2. Maddi McRee, Service, 1:27.21; 3. Claire Sabin, Dimond, 1:45.42

Boys 100 Yard Butterfly

1. Tomasz Balaban, Service, 55.31; 2. Roman Fosberg, Dimond, 58.03; 3. Andy Zhang, Dimond, 58.77

Girls 100 Yard Freestyle

1. Natalie Hostetter, Service, 58.33; 2. Varya Bodrova, Dimond, 59.65; 3. Lilly Anderson, Service, 1:03.24

Boys 100 Yard Freestyle

1. Ben Price, Service, 49.59; 2. Dax O’Brien, Dimond, 52.06; 3. Jonathan Szymanski, Dimond, 54.79

Girls 500 Yard Freestyle

1. Zaylee Mullinax, Dimond, 5:47.19; 2. Keena Bennett, Service, 6:34.80; 3. Jazmyne Nails, Service, 6:42.91

Boys 500 Yard Freestyle

1. Jan Beck, Service, 4:59.57; 2. Clint Kopp, Dimond, 5:20.39; 3. Caeden Kullander, Dimond, 5:33.39

Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

1. Service ‘A’ (Linai Tuers, Anna Brooks, Lilly Anderson, Natalie Hostetter), 1:47.37; 2. Dimond ‘A’, 1:48.04; 3. Service ‘B’, 2:02.22

Boys 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

1. Dimond ‘A’ (Jonathan Szymanski, Roman Fosberg, Dax O’Brien, Caeden Kullander), 1:37.02; 2. Service ‘A’, 1:41.21; 3. Dimond ‘B’, 1:53.20

Girls 100 Yard Backstroke

1. Molly McBride, Dimond, 1:07.73; 2. Linai Tuers, Service, 1:11.05; 3. Jocelyn Williams, Service, 1:18.84

Boys 100 Yard Backstroke

1. Dominic Brunelle, Dimond, 1:03.87; 2. Hunter Huelskoetter, Service, 1:07.29; 3. Cameron Posey, Dimond, 1:07.31

Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke

1. Anna Brooks, Service, 1:10.83; 2. Jillian Kuipers, Dimond, 1:21.24; 3. Elliana Stull, Dimond, 1:27.98

Boys 100 Yard Breaststroke

1. Jan Beck, Service, 1:01.77; 2. Jake Altman, Service, 1:11.43; 3. Creed Cvancara, Dimond, 1:11.69

Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay

1. Service ‘A’ (Keena Bennett, Devin Hall, Jazmyne Nails, Jocelyn Williams), 4:40.20; 2. Dimond ‘A’, 4:55.06; 3. Service ‘B’, 5:14.03

Boys 400 Yard Freestyle Relay

1. Service ‘A’ (Tomasz Balaban, Braeden Schoppert, Jan Beck, Ben Price), 3:24.94; 2. Dimond ‘A’, 3:28.32; 3. Dimond ‘B’, 3:55.91

South v Bartlett

Girls- Team Rankings

1. South 121; 2. Bartlett 43

Boys- Team Rankings

1. South 90; 2. Bartlett 33

Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay

1. South (Zoe Fencil, Stella Baldessari, Tui Stanbury, Reese Romspert), 2:01.84. 2, South ,2:20.87

Boys 200 Yard Medley Relay

1. South (Gideon Kern, Ryan Barrett, Porter Ellingson, Jedidiah Tueller), 2:17.46; 2. South 2:33.28

Girls 200 Yard Freestyle

1. Zoe Zipsir, South, 2:06.23; 2. Tui Stanbury, South, 2:16.99; 3. Marissa Reyna, Bartlett, 3:21.66

Boys 200 Yard Freestyle

1. Daniel Lund, South, 2:11.55; 2. Gideon Kern, South, 2:28.39; 3. Malik Burns, Bartlett, 2:31.76

Girls 200 Yard IM

1. Iris Rothbarth, South, 2:45.29; 2. Ruby Willman, South, 2:46.39; 3. Journey Hornbuckle Carr, Bartlett, 3:20.27

Boys 200 Yard IM

1. Griffin Fencil, South, 2:19.36; 2. Leutian McDonald, South, 2:35.43

Girls 50 Yard Freestyle

1. Alyiah Hufana, South, 32.19; 2. Eiley Reid, Bartlett HS, 33.73; 3. Kathryn Cooke, South, 35.46

Boys 50 Yard Freestyle

1. Porter Ellingson, South, 27.73; 2. Christopher Cooke, South, 27.81; 3. Malik Burns, Bartlett, 28.95

Girls 1 mtr Diving

1. Emma Marsh, South, 244.20; 2. Angelagrace Flores, Bartlett, 126.05; 3. Tessa Buzzell, Bartlett, 119.20

Girls 100 Yard Butterfly

1. Kaydence Giroux, South, 1:19.57; 2. Alyiah Hufana, South, 1:23.81

Boys 100 Yard Butterfly

1. Daniel Lund, South, 1:14.80; 2. Leutian McDonald, South, 1:15.48

Girls 100 Yard Freestyle

1. Zoe Zipsir, South, 58.85; 2. Tui Stanbury, South, 59.81; 3. Emilia Welch, Bartlett, 1:18.16

Boys 100 Yard Freestyle

1. Gideon Kern, South, 1:07.11; 2. Christopher Cooke, South, 1:15.22; 3. Fredy Gonzalez, Bartlett, 1:23.65

Girls 500 Yard Freestyle

1. Reese Romspert, South, 6:12.57; 2. Ruby Willman, South, 6:30.02; 3. Eiley Reid, Bartlett,

7:38.38

Boys 500 Yard Freestyle

1. Kenny Young, Bartlett, 7:03.31

Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

1. South (Zoe Zipsir, Reese Romspert, Zoe Fencil, Stella Baldessari), 1:51.18; 2. South, 2:21.83; 3. Bartlett, 2:35.86

Boys 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

1. Bartlett (Malik Burns, Kenny Young, Fredy Gonzalez, Michael Amaya), 2:09.26; 2. South, 2:11.55

Girls 100 Yard Backstroke

1. Kaydence Giroux, South, 1:13.11; 2. Harper Willman, South, 1:16.07; 3. Aura Perkins, Bartlett, 1:35.51

Boys 100 Yard Backstroke

1. Griffin Fencil, South, 1:02.62; 2. Dakari Renteria, Bartlett, 1:43.33

Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke

1. Stella Baldessari, South, 1:12.10; 2. Zoe Fencil, South, 1:17.06; 3. Ella Dunlap, Bartlett, 1:48.02

Boys 100 Yard Breaststroke

1. Jedidiah Tueller, South, 1:19.85; 2. Porter Ellingson, South, 1:21.58

Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay

1. South (Zoe Zipsir, Kaydence Giroux, Ruby Willman, Meadow Bailly), 4:29.02; 2. South, 4:29.77

Boys 400 Yard Freestyle Relay

1. South (Leutian McDonald, Griffin Fencil, Daniel Lund, Gideon Kern), 4:00.96

College

Volleyball

Thursday

UAF 3, UAA 1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-19)

Hockey

Friday

Northern Michigan 2, UAA 1

Notre Dame 4, UAF 1

Saturday

UAA 5, Northern Michigan 3

UAF 1, Notre Dame 0

NAHL

Friday

Fairbanks Ice Dogs 7, Anchorage Wolverines 4

Saturday

Anchorage Wolverines 7, Fairbanks Ice Dogs 1